For every burst of energy or eye-catching visual, the film doubly shoots itself in the foot with listless pacing and dreary thematics. Ultimately, it isn't worth the effort to get to the good stuff.
Comment
02/12/09
The International (2009)
58
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:191
Fresh:111
Rotten:80
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: The International boasts some electric action sequences and picturesque locales, but is undone by its preposterous plot.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 19, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $25,450,527
Synopsis: Released in a post-globalization economy teetering on the brink of a depression, THE INTERNATIONAL admirably stays in step with its time. Screenwriter Eric Singer hangs this man-against-the-machine... [More]
Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Brian F. O'Byrne
Director: Tom Tykwer
Reviews for The International
161 - 180 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
By the time the film unearths its ultimate revelation that, essentially, the entire world is in on the corruption, it's easier to just enjoy the film's scenery and shoot-'em-ups.
02/12/09
An action thriller with some decent action and a few thrills, but all embedded in a yarn so hopelessly tangled that even the loose threads have knots.
02/12/09
The International is just passable; it’s a clock-puncher that’s almost entirely free of suspense or surprise.
02/12/09
A fairly good thriller with mixed-bag elements: preposterous plot, smartly elegant direction, one of the worst recent performances by a major actress, and a dynamite stick of an action scene that can stand close to the greats.
02/12/09
The movie's theory of insidious capitalism is mildly interesting, but there are no interesting relationships to make it meaningful.
02/12/09
A handsome thriller, just not a riveting one, turning the potential for an unsettling thrill ride with real-world ramifications into a passable nail-biter more interested in the art of protracted conversation than portioning out punches.
02/12/09
A distant cousin to Daniel Craig's second Bond outing ("Quantum of Solace"), "The International" is still worth seeing for fans of the genre.
02/12/09
This unwieldy product, with its swathes of expository dialogue, might have been titled Expain Clive Explain.
02/12/09
The International impressively uses architecture as tone sculpture, primarily setting its action in the clean affluence of polished steel, clear glass and poured concrete modernism. Rarely does a thriller convey such an effortless stench of untouchability
02/12/09
What, might you ask, is the cause of all this cloak-and-dagger skullduggery? Well, I could tell you, but then I’d have to bore you.
02/12/09
I enjoyed The International. Clive Owen makes a semi-believable hero, not performing too many feats that are physically unlikely.
02/12/09
Top CriticThe pace is fast and the action, particularly a mind-boggling shoot-'em-up in the Guggenheim Museum, furious enough. But the less-conventional elements are in many ways even more effective.
02/12/09
Tom Tykwer's globe-spanning thriller about corporate malfeasance offers ideas, pace, beauty, and an aces turn from thinking-man's action hero Clive Owen.
02/12/09
As if we need another reason to hate banks right now.
02/12/09
Taut conspiracy thriller is elevated above the ordinary thanks to Tom Tykwer's sharp direction and a typically rock solid performance by Clive Owen.
02/12/09
[I]nternational bankers...trafficking in munitions and weapons systems in all the powder-keg regions of a troubled world. Is that a group you can love to hate or what?
02/12/09
a convoluted film about a complicated subject
02/11/09
In terms of tension - pure, cinematic suspense - the picture is a knockout.
02/11/09
Even classed up with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, the story -- inspired by an actual late-’80s/early-’90s scandal -- seems slightly confused and dated.
02/11/09
Latest News for The International
March 22, 2009:
Click for trailer and preview 
More...
February 16, 2009:
Perhaps a perverse variation of The Peter Principle comes into play, here, since Tom Twyker appears to be over his head helming a Hollywood blockbuster as opposed to a modest, art house indie.
More...
February 14, 2009:
The Naomi Watts International Interview: On sleepless nights, lactose lobotomies and almost kissing scenes
More...
February 12, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Friday the 13th Feels Too Familiar
This week at the movies, we've got creepy campers (Friday the 13th, starring Jared Padalecki and Danielle Panabaker), conspicuous consumption (Confessions of a Shopaholic,... More...
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